This invention relates to apparatus for removing impurities from crowns, bottle caps, or other closures, prior to affixing them to a container in an automated bottling plant. While crowns are specifically referred to hereinafter, the invention relates to any type of closure that may contain impurities that should be removed prior to securing them to a container.
In a typical crown bottling plant, crowns are fed through a crown feed track to machinery which affixes the crowns onto bottles which have been filled with a beverage. The crowns are disposed in a hopper from which they are directed down a track onto containers that have been previously filled. When in the hoppers, they collect dust which tends to cling to the crowns due to generated static electricity. In addition, the crowns may pick up dust particles when they travel through the crown feed track.
It is highly desirable to remove the impurities from the interior surfaces of the crown prior to affixing the crowns onto the tops of bottles containing a beverage so that the beverage does not become contaminated with the impurities carried on the interior surfaces of the crowns.